I've had zero issues with Seagate. Maxtor has been trouble free. I remember the two most unreliable, Fujitsu, and Conner. But that was a while back.
IMHO, I trust companies that have been at it a while. I know WD and Seagate have had a long history, not to say others haven't. And there is also the treatment of the drives, enviroment, cooling, motion ect.